


The Last Goodbye

by buckdiaz



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Character Death, Crying, Denial, Gen, Illness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22743409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckdiaz/pseuds/buckdiaz
Summary: Owen doesn't show up for his shift at the station. TK goes to find him. He does.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes (9-1-1 Lone Star)/TK Strand, Owen Strand & TK Strand, Paul Strickland & TK Strand, TK Strand & Judd Ryder
Comments: 48
Kudos: 214





	The Last Goodbye

Groaning as the alarms clock went off, TK yawned and rolled over on his other side so he could cuddle up close to Carlos. ”What do you say to letting people deal with fires and robberies on their own today?” TK said sleepily as he rubbed his eyes. ”Tempting. Especially since your voice is so sexy in the morning” Carlos said as he tightened his hold on TK and rolled them over so he was on top. 

TK smiled and opened his eyes finally and looked up at Carlos. ”Morning” he said quietly and reached up to run his hand over the slight stubble on Carlos’s face. ”Good morning, tiger” Carlos replied and pressed a kiss to TK’ nose. Giggling, TK scrunched up his face. ”You go shower, I’ll get the coffee and breakfast started” Carlos said and pressed another quick kiss to TK’s nose before getting up from the bed. 

”Or you could join me in the shower and I’ll have my breakfast there” TK suggested as he sat up and ruffled his hair. ”No, I’d actually like to get on work on time at least once this week” Carlos chuckled and pulled on a pair of undies. ”Go shower” Carlos grinned as he threw a dirty sock in TK’s direction. 

All washed up and dressed in his uniform, TK leaned on the counter as he sipped his coffee and ate his scrambled eggs. ”Maybe we can meet up for lunch if we’re not out on calls?” Carlos asked as he put his gear belt on and checked in the mirror that his uniform was okay. ”Yeah, sure. The taco truck?” TK replied with a smile and put his dirty dishes in the sink. Carlos rolled his eyes. ”Fine. We can go to the taco truck. Again” TK grinned and threw his arms around Carlos. 

”Thank you, Carlitos” He said sweetly and gave him a kiss. Carlos put his hand on TK’s head and deepened the kiss for a second. ”We’re going to be late, stop being so kissable” TK chuckled as he pulled away. ”I just need to grab my book, dad wanted to read it when I was done!” TK said and walked into the bedroom. ”Keys are in the lock, I’ll wait in the car!” Carlos shouted after him as he made sure he had everything he needed and walked out of their home. 

Pulling up in front of the police station, TK undid his seatbelt and leant over to kiss Carlos. ”Be safe” he told him before grabbing his book and phone. ”Same goes for you. I’ll call you about lunch okay?” Carlos said as he watched as TK got out of the car. ”I love you, bye!” TK smiled and waved as he closed the door. Carlos smiled and waved before pulling away. 

Walking into the station, TK smiled at Paul. ”Hi, man, how did you date with Rose go last night?” TK asked as they walked together further into the station and into the locker room. ”Pretty good, she stayed for breakfast so” Paul smirked. ”God damn!” TK whooped and gave him a fist bump. Paul chuckled as he put some of his personal belongings in his locker. ”I’m happy for you, man. You deserve it. Also maybe you’ll stop teasing me about Carlos” TK said innocently. 

”Well that’s never going to happen” Paul teased back. Laughing, TK picked his book back up. ”Alright alright, I’m just to see dad, is he in the office or?” TK asked as walked to the door. ”I don’t think he’s showed up yet. Haven’t seen him” Paul replied. ”I’ll go check. He might be stuck in line for his organic juice or something at Starbucks” TK grinned before heading up the stairs. 

Seeing his dad wasn’t there TK put the book on the office desk and got his phone out. Hitting Owen’s name in his contacts list, TK headed back down the stairs. The phone just kept ringing until the call was cut. Sending his dad a quick text to ask where he was, TK looked up as the alarm went off for a fire. Quickly putting his phone away, he ran to his gear, got dressed and jumped into the truck. 

The call itself was simple, no actual fire just someone who was cooking and forgot about to take away the plastic spatula from the oven as they left to do something else real quick. Returning back to the station about an hour later, TK jumped off the truck and got his gear off before peeking his head out a the parking lot. Biting his lip as he saw his dad’s car still wasn’t there, he fished up his phone and checked it. No texts or call backs. 

Sighing, he hit Owen’s name again and held the phone up to his ear. There still wasn’t any answers. He waited until he heard the voice mail beep. ”Hey dad, it’s me, I was just wondering if you were coming in today? No one has seen or heard from you so.. Call me back. Love you” TK said down the phone before turning around and spotted Judd and Paul looking at him. ”Sorry, I’ll get to checking the truck now” He said and gave them a small smile. Judd rolled his eyes. ”Just go drag your dad out of bed and tell him I’ll never forget he overslept” Judd said. TK shot him a thankful. ”Hi, Paul, can I borrow your car?” TK asked sweetly. Paul just pulled his car keys out of his pocket and held them out. ”Thanks guys!” TK said as he grabbed them and quickly got on his way. 

Pulling up to the house, TK turned the radio off and walked up to the front door. Finding the door locked he unlocked it with his keys and stepped inside. ”Dad?” He called out and looked into the kitchen, frowning as he saw the sink was running. 

Jogging over, TK shut off the tap and grabbed a kitchen towel to wipe up some of the water that had landed on the counter. ”Dad? It’s TK, you here?” He called out again and listened for a reply. There wasn’t one. 

”Judd says hi and that he’ll never let you forget you overslept!” TK said as he checked the living room. Knocking on Owen’s bedroom door, TK opened it slowly. ”Dad?” TK asked softly as he peeked inside. The man wasn’t there either. ”Dad, where the fuck are you?” TK groaned and closed the door. Pulling out his phone, he called his dad again. Spinning around as he heard it calling from the kitchen area, TK bit his lip as he followed the noise. 

The pantry door was slightly open and the light was on. He stood still for a while and waited till the phone had stopped ringing. ”Dad?” TK said softly and waited for a response. ”Dad?” he whispered as he nudged the pantry door open slowly. Biting his lip, he frowned as the first thing he saw was cheerios spilled over the floor. Owen sat motionless against the wall, staring at the ground, his mouth open. 

”You must be tired hu? Don’t worry, I’ll clean up while you rest some more” TK said after about a minute as he crouched down and started scooping up the cherries and putting them back in their box. ”I brought the book you wanted to read to the station. You can read it when you come in later” TK said as held the cereal box between his hands. ”I think you’ll like it, it was very good” TK added quietly. 

”I’m going to get a towel. I didn’t get all the water you spilled. You left the tap open you know, don’t complain to me if you got water damage” TK said sharply as he stood up quickly and marched into the bathroom. Putting the cereal box on the bathroom counter, TK grabbed the towels he could carry before walking back to the kitchen. ”Its very irresponsible of you to just leave the tap on. Such waste of water too” TK mumbled as he put towels everywhere and patted down the counters and the floor. 

TK frowned as he saw his hands shaking. ”I think I’m tired too” He said as he glanced over at his dad. ”Are you sure you shouldn’t like go to bed instead? You neck is going to kil…” TK stopped abruptly. ”Oh, I missed a spot” he whispered as he saw a drop of water on the cupboard door. 

The towel was clutched in his hands as he walked over to the pantry. ”Dad?” TK said softly. ”I think you should wake up now” he said and cleared his throat. No response. 

Sighing, TK sat down and leaned against the wall outside of the pantry and stared out at the hallway. ”You can’t sleep forever. I’m meeting Carlos for tacos later and you can’t just sleep in the pantry all alone like this. It’s not a good look” he murmured before chuckling. ”My phone keeps ringing in my pocket, they’re probably wondering why we aren’t back yet, if you weren’t the captain you’d be in so much trouble” TK smiled. 

He looked down at the towel clutched in his hand. Shaking it out he folded it together neatly before putting it down next to him. ”But don’t worry, I won’t go until you feel better” he nodded and peeked around the corner and looked at Owen. ”You’ll feel better soon. Just need a bit of rest” TK said determined and went back to staring down the hallway. 

”You could come with me and Carlos and have tacos? Get out for a bit?” TK asked and took a deep breath. ”It’s okay, you don’t have to answer now. Just think about it” he blinked quickly before scratching his face. 

”Owen? TK?” TK looked up as he heard Judd. ”Shh! Be quiet, dad’s resting! What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Is it Carlos?” TK said quietly as he looked at Judd walking closer. ”No, nothing wrong with Carlos. Why are you on the floor?” Judd as he walked over and as he rounded the corner, he stopped in his tracks as he spotted Owen. ”Oh I’m just keeping dad company. He isn't feeling well so he’s resting” TK explained and gave him a smile. 

The smile turned into a frown as he saw Judd look sad. ”You okay?” he asked. Judd ran a hand over his face and cleared his throat before crouching down next to TK. ”Hi buddy, why don’t we step outside for a bit?” Judd asked softly as he reached for TK’s hand. 

”No!” TK snapped and glared at him. ”Dad needs me here, I’m staying. We can talk here” he said determined and felt his heart racing. Judd nodded and wiped a few tears from his eyes. ”Okay, you sit here till I get back. I just need to go outside and make a call” Judd said and stood up before quickly walking out of the house. 

As soon as he was outside, he promptly threw up into the flowerbed and reached for his phone while Paul came running up to him. The rest of the crew stayed back. ”Its uh, Owen. He. He’s” Judd cried and scrolled down on his call list till he found Carlos. ”Call Michelle, tell her to get here. It’s not urgent” He sniffled as he looked up at Paul. He looked shocked but gave a little nod before running back to the truck to make the call. 

”Judd?” Carlos asked as he picked up. ”Owen is gone, he’s gone. TK went to check on him and he is just sitting in there on the floor with him, he’s going to need you” Judd cried before taking a deep breath and wiping his eyes again. ”I’m on my way” Carlos whispered before they ended the call. ”Fuck” Judd whispered as he put the phone away. 

He walked over to the rest of his crew, his family and put his hands on his hips. They were crying and looking just shocked. ”Emm Carlos is coming. Marjan could you contact dispatch and tell them to take us offline?” Judd sniffled, trying to hold it together. Marjan nodded and stepped away. ”I know you might want to go inside but TK” Judd stopped and let out a sob. ”It will freak TK out so we’re going to wait” The crew nodded. 

It didn’t take long for Carlos to arrive in his police cruiser and Michelle to arrive with her team in the ambulance. 

Both of them had tears in their eyes. ”Wheres TK?” Carlos asked as he ran up to Judd by the front door, Michelle following him. ”He’s by the pantry. O-Owen is inside the pantry. He thinks his dad is resting” Judd managed to explain as he glanced at them. ”Oh my god” Michelle whispered and put her hand over her mouth. ”And you’re sure? About Owen?” She asked quietly. Judd nodded and sniffled. 

”TK is not coping. He is not going to want to leave so you and I are going to have to be with him” Judd said at Carlos, who nodded. ”I’ll make sure we take care of Owen” Michelle said. ”You go on in, try and talk to TK and tell him we’ll be coming in” she added as she tied her hair back in a ponytail. Carlos and Judd shared a look before Judd opened the door. 

TK looked up as he heard the front door open and foot steps came towards him. ”Hi baby” Carlos whispered as crouched down next to TK and took his hand. It was clammy. ”Dad is getting cold, can you get him a blanket? I don’t want him to get sick” TK asked Judd. ”Maybe in a minute, TK. Michelle needs to come inside and have a look at your dad okay?” Carlos said and squeezed his hand. 

TK started shaking his head quickly. ”No. No” he whimpered and yanked his hand free from Carlos. ”We just have to wait a bit longer, he’s going to wake up!” TK whispered and stared down at the floor as he breathed quickly. Hearing the sound of the gurney wheels on the floor, TK looked up wide eyed at Carlos. ”I’m sorry baby, she needs to look at Owen now” Carlos got up and with the help of Judd they got TK to stand up and held him between themselves. TK put his hands over his ears and stared silently as Michelle and her team got Owen up on the gurney and out of the pantry. ”He looks funny” TK whispered. 

”Dad?” he whispered quietly. ”You hair isn’t right” he said and put his hands down by his side. ”Dad please” he whimpered and stepped over to the gurney and looked down at him. ”Please wake up now, please” he whispered as he stroked Owen’s hair so it laid right. He saw that his hands were shaking again. ”Dad that’s enough!” he snapped. ”Wake up!” TK screamed and punched Owen’s chest. 

Suddenly hands were grabbing him and dragging him away. ”No! Let me go! Dad! Dad, wake up!” TK screamed as he fought Carlos’s and Judd’s grip. ”Don’t take him, don’t take him! No! Michelle! Stop it! Dad!” TK sobbed as he saw Michelle cover him up with a white sheet. ”Daaad!” TK screamed heartbroken. 

—

”TK, baby, we’re here” Carlos said softly as he put his hand on TK’s thigh. Blinking TK looked around and saw that they were at the church. Taking another long blink, TK tightened his fingers around his dad’s fire-helmet. ”Is he inside?” he whispered just staring blankly in front of him. ”Yeah, he’s inside” Carlos replied. TK did a little nod, held the helmet against his chest as he opened the door and stepped out. The sun was bright and blinding him so he quickly just looked down. 

Slowly he stepped around the car and let out a little breath as Carlos put his hand around his waist. ”Do you want to go inside? And have a look before everyone gets here?” he asked. TK bit his lip and glanced at the doors. TK gave Carlos another little nod before following Carlos up the stairs and in the doors. There were flowers, pictures, candles and more flowers. His breath caught in his throat as he spotted the coffin and the flag over it. 

Whimpering, TK turned around and pressed his head against Carlos’s chest as he squeezed his eyes shut. ”Easy, breathe, I’ve got you” Carlos whispered as he rubbed TK’s back. They stayed hugging for a few minutes before TK pulled back and turned around to look at his dad. His fire jacket with his name and title on it was on display. A picture of him smiling was there too. 

Clutching the helmet close, TK walked slowly up to the coffin and put his hand on it. There was so much he wanted to say. Wanted his dad to hear. As he carefully put the helmet on top of the coffin, he whispered softly while holding back a sob. ”I love you, daddy” as tears ran down his cheeks.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone at the discord channel for all the help and support <3


End file.
